Ruby Dee appeared in numerous films including a Raisin in the Sun and Do the Right Thing
Dee starred in St Louis Blues with Nat King Cole in 1957
Publications:BBC, CNN, NYT:
Keywords: legend, activist, civil rights, acclaimed, actress, married
The BBC recently covered the story about the passing of actress Ruby Dee at the age of 91 at her home in New Rochelle, New York on Wednesday, June 11, 2014. Actress Ruby Dee was well known for her role in “The Jackie Robinson Story” and more recently “American Gangsta” where she was nominated for an Oscar for playing the role of Denzel Washington’s mother in the film.
The author started the story out by identifying Ruby Dee as an acclaimed actress. When using the word acclaimed the author gives the image that she was admired and well-known by the public.
The story also mentioned Ruby Dee as being a civil rights activist. The author did not elaborate on what she actually contributed to the civil rights movement leaving the image that her role was not a very significant one or the author had not done much research regarding Dee’s role as a civil rights activist.
The author also mentioned that Emmy-winning actress Ruby Dee was married to screen legend Ossie Davis for 56 years. When the author mentions Rudy Dee’s husband as being a legend he is addressing a stereotype that although Ruby Dee is an award winning actress and she is successful in her own right, the author still feels that it is necessary to mention her husband as being a legend giving the image that his works were somehow still more superior.
When comparing the stories about the passing of Ruby Dee from the from the news publications BBC, CNN and The New York Times I realized that the covered from the BBC publication was the shortest in terms of the information that was covered in the story. The stories from CNN and The New York Times were covered way more in depth.
When reading all three of the stories I noticed that the BBC mentioned Ruby Dee’s husband at the beginning of the story and at the very end of the story. That was confusing when the primary purpose of the article was to show homage and acknowledge the works of Ruby Dee. Although the CNN and New York Times publications ended their stories with quotes that were from actress Ruby Dee throughout their stories they almost always seen to reference her and her husband’s works together. The image that these stories are portraying was that although Ruby Dee was successful she could not have accomplished these things without a strong man behind her.
All of the authors mentioned in their stories that she was a successful actress and to many people she was their favorite but in the story from The New York Times publication the author mentioned that she was not often casted as the leading lady. The image that the author is putting out there is that Ruby Dee was a great actress but more than likely due to her race and the time period when she began her career she was often looked over when there was a casting for a leading role.
The stories from CNN and The New York Times also mentioned specific things about Ruby Dee’s appearance and demeanor but the author of the BBC’s story failed to mention anything. The author of CNN’s story mentioned Ruby Dee as being small and stylish in comparison to her husband being big and bluff. The image this author is depicting is that Dee is maybe more in tune with being stylish and she is also a small petite woman in comparison to her husband who is a big buff man and is very blunt when he speaks.
All of the stories for the most part said positive things about Ruby Dee’s works while mentioning small aspects of her personal life.
BBC: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-27825560
CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/12/showbiz/obit-ruby-dee/index.html?iref=allsearch
The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/13/arts/ruby-dee-actress-dies-at-91.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3As&_r=0
Rowdy, Uppity & Sometimes Well-Behaved 